Tuscaloosa regional airport tower closing delayed

FAA pushes planned closure to mid-June to sort out legal issues

Published: Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 5, 2013 at 11:29 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | The local air traffic control tower was one of 149 nationwide to get a reprieve Friday from the Federal Aviation Administration.

According to an FAA statement, the planned closures will be delayed until June 15 to sort through a variety of legal issues. Closures had been set for May 5.

“We’re delighted,” said Wayne Cameron, manager of Tuscaloosa Regional Airport, although he said it is too early to tell whether the closures will be shelved permanently.

The delay was also welcome news to Bill Henderson, air traffic manager of the local tower.

“I think that this helps (the FAA) have a little bit of daylight so they can see where they’re making a mistake and possibly give them a chance to come to some sort of reason on what they’re doing right now,” said Henderson, who works for Robinson Aviation, the Texas-based company contracted to perform air traffic control duties for Tuscaloosa.

Last month, the FAA announced it would eliminate funding for the towers as part of the agency’s required $637 million in budget cuts this fiscal year under federal sequestration.

This was part of an overall $85 billion cut in federal programs by the end of this fiscal year and $1.2 trillion over the next decade.

Laura J. Brown, the FAA’s deputy assistant administrator for public affairs, said the FAA will find other areas to cut to make up for the additional funds needed to extend the life of the air traffic control towers.

The additional time will allow the FAA to attempt to resolve multiple legal challenges to the closure decisions, the FAA release said.

About 50 airport authorities and other airport operation agencies, like the Tuscaloosa City Council, have said they may fund the tower operations themselves.

“This has been a complex process and we need to get this right,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a press release. “Safety is our top priority. We will use this additional time to make sure communities and pilots understand the changes at their local airports.”

Earlier this week, the City Council’s Administration Committee explored a range of options that could keep the local control tower in operation beyond the closure date.

Doing so could amount to additional expenses of almost $520,000 a year on top of the estimated $764,820 the city now invests in the airport’s yearly operations.

This figure is based on the $43,269 that Robinson Aviation now receives each month from the FAA to operate the Regional Airport’s tower from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

The committee voted to fund an additional month of service for the tower at the current rate, and Tera Tubbs, director of the Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation, said the decision should remain in effect in case the city needs more time beyond the June 15 deadline to decide how to keep the tower open.

“We’re just glad we’ve got extra time to do what’s right for the tower ... (and) to make the safest transition as possible,” Tubbs said.

To fund these cost increases, city officials proposed the enactment of a fuel flowage tax and landing fee, which could add an additional $600,000 to the approximately $93,000 in revenue the Regional Airport now generates.